In Monster Hunter World you’ll spend a lot of time grinding for better gear, experience, and to unlock key areas. Optional Quests are not required for progressing the main storyline, but they are incredibly helpful for making your character stronger and more capable of handling the hunts ahead.

Honestly, it’s in your best interest to complete every Optional Quest at least once as they unlock a number of things and provide you with valuable rewards, but if you’re looking for the best quests to focus on then you should strongly consider these ones.

Updated February 5th, 2021 by Ben Baker: With the updates introduced in the Iceborne DLC there have been large number of new quests added to the game. Of the optional quests there are a few that stand out as being superior to what was offered in the original version of the game. Here are the ones players should be tackling for great rewards.

15 Talons Of Ire And Ice

Talons Of Ire And Ice is a level seven Hunting Quest. You must be HR 13 or higher and the quest is given to you by the Chief Botanist. You must find and kill an Odogaron and a Legiana in the Coral Highlands. Considering Odogaron’s are annoying to fight many players will put this off.

But if you successfully complete it not only will you get a whopping 20,160 zenny but you’ll also obtain another Culture Slot. This is huge for scaling up your botany program and generating resources passively.

14 Bazelgeuse In The Field Of Fire

This is another level seven Hunting Quest and is given by the Smart Biologist. It tasks you with hunting a Bazelgeuse in Elder’s Recess. The nice thing about this quest is you receive a number of helpful rewards.

There’s a zenny payout of 14,400, you also get one thousand Research Points, and the big kahuna is that this quest unlocks Capture Kula Ya Ku, Capture Barroth, Capture Paolumu, and Capture Odogaron. Basically it’s a lucrative quest that opens up quests helpful for farming purposes, assuming you don’t mind capturing.

13 A Portent Of Disaster

A Portent of Disaster is a level eight Slaying Quest given by an Armory Worker when you’re HR 14 and have successfully completed research on ten different monsters. This quest sends you out to kill the Kushala Daora.

For doing so you get 18 thousand zenny and the Apothecary Mantle. When worn the mantle raises the chance that your weapons will apply status effects. This is helpful for a number of capture quests when you need to apply sleep for instance.

12 A Fiery Convergence

A Fiery Convergence pits you against the Lavasioth and Uragaan as part of this level seven Hunting Quest in the Elder’s Recess. It requires you to be HR 13, and will only unlock after completing the quests The Sleeping Sylvan Queen and Dodogama Drama.

Once you complete the requisite task the Armory will grant you 21,600 zenny for your troubles and the Fireproof Mantle. It’s an item that when worn will reduce the damage from fire attacks, fireblight, blastblight, and hot environments. This thing is a godsend when going up against Teostra.

11 Showdown: The Muck And The Maul

The Armory sends you out on this level nine Hunting Quest if you have HR of 15 and have hunted five different tempered monsters. The task is to enter the Special Arena and kill a Tempered Barroth and a Tempered Radobaan.

In exchange you receive 15,480 zenny and the Impact Mantle. The Impact Mantle will add a stun effect to your attacks or increase how long the stun takes effect if you already have the ability to apply stun. This may not be useful on the tougher monsters resistant or even immune to stun, but it’s helpful when farming smaller creatures.

10 A Blaze On The Sand

This is a level eight Slaying Quest handed out by the Armory after you’ve researched 15 different monsters. The request seems steep as you’re going up against a Teostra, but fortunately its out of it’s element so it’s a bit easier than the first time you slayed it.

As a reward you get 18 thousand zenny and the Immunity Mantle. The Immunity Mantle is incredibly handy as it removes all status effects once put on and makes you immune to them during the effect duration.

9 New World Sky, New World Flower

Yet another level nine Hunting Quest handed out by the Armory. To access this quest you need an HR of 15 and to have hunted down seven different unique tempered monsters. If you manage to do that then you’ll be sent to hunt a Tempered Pink Rathian and a Tempered Azure Rathalos in the Special Arena.

Afterward you’ll be paid an astounding 25,920 zenny and receive the Evasion Mantle. This is a powerful item that increases the window of invulnerability when evading an attack and gives you a temporary boost to damage when you do so at the last minute.

8 A Summons From Below

This is a level nine Hunting Quest given to you by the Armory once you’ve managed to slay three different Tempered Elder Dragons. This quest sends you after a Tempered Vaal Hazak and a Tempered odogaron in the Rotten Vale.

Successfully finishing this quest rewards with perhaps the most powerful Mantle in the game, the Rocksteady Mantle. It prevents your character from flinching and reduces all forms of damage you take during the effect duration.

7 White Winds Of The New World

Unlocking this quest is a doozy as it requires you to have completed all assignments and all Optional Quests up to level eight and the level nine quest A Light Upon The River’s Gloom. After doing all this the Commander in Astera will send you after a Legiana, Odogaron, Diablos, and Rathalos in the Special Arena.

If you can managed to take them down you’ll receive a hefty 27,720 zenny, Rainbow Armor Pigment, and the valuable Research Comission Ticket. This last item is a resource needed to craft and upgrade end game level gear like the Lunastra Weapons, Commission Armor, and a number of powerful charms.

6 The Sapphire Star’s Guidance

This optional quest is definitely worth your time and will be one you grind a lot in the end game, but be prepared for one heck of a fight. After reaching an HR of 100 The Commander in Astera will send you to kill a Tempered Kushala Daora, Tempered Teostra, and a Tempered Nergigante.

If you managed to not only unlock this quest but pull it off you get an astounding 38,880 zenny and two Research Commission Tickets. This is the best way to grind those highly prized tickets which makes it the best Optional Quest in the game.

5 Piercing Black

In Piercing Black players are tasked with hunting down a Tempered Black Diablos in the Wildspire Waste. Players will need to have an MR of 17 or higher and the Rocksteady Mantle unlocked.

Taking down a Tempered Black Diablos is no picnic, but the rewards are phenomenal in this quest. For simply doing the act players will get a variety of resources like Monster Solidbone, Heavy Armor Spheres, and Large Wyvern Gems. But the main prize is 34,560 zenny and the Rocksteady Mantle.

4 The Tyrant’s Banquet

The Tyrant’s Banquet quest charges the player with killing a Savage Deviljho. Unlocking this quest requires an MR 21, the Apothecary Mantle unlocked, and having Savage Deviljho research at level four.

The player will naturally farm various resources from this quest such as Might Seed and Screamer Sac. But the real prize is the quest reward. For taking down the Savage Deviljho the player gets 36 thousand zenny and the Apothecary Mantle.

3 It’s The Afterlife For Me

This quest has players travel to the Rotten Vale to kill the Blackveil Vaal Hazak. Players will need an MR of at least 19, the Immunity Mantle unlocked, and research four on the Blackveil Vaal Hazak. This monster is hard to take down so players will want to be thoroughly prepared.

Killing the rotted beast comes with a 36 thousand zenny reward and the Immunity Mantle. This is a fantastic item as it can remove and prevent all abnormal status effects for a period of time.

2 The Purr-fect Room: Silver

This quest is a bit different from other higher tier optional quests in that players must capture a Seething Bazelgeuse. A challenge that probably requires a guide all on its own. The player must have an MR of 19 or higher to unlock the quest.

Merely doing the quest has a chance of dropping valuable resources like an Ancient Feystone or Spiritvein Crystal. The major prize is the 46,800 zenny and a Gutsy Charm. The Gutsy Charm is essentially an extra life if the player is hit with a killing blow.

1 We Run This Town

For We Run This Town players need to take down five monsters; Tigrex, Nargacuga, Zinogre, Brachydios, and a Glavenus. There’s a reason this is the hardest Optional Quest in the game, but the reward is more than worth it.

If players can successfully hunt these creatures they’re in for a real treat. The player will get a payout of 71,280 zenny and a Research Commission Ticket+. If the player has reached MR 200 and completed all optional quests they’ll also receive the Diamond Master Symbol.

NEXT: 5 Of The Best Areas In Monster Hunter: World (& 5 That Are Just Terrible)